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Dev Diary #97: Pagan Pals - Warrior Lodges

Greetings!

This week we want to show you the work we have been doing on the new society type: Warrior Lodges!

(This is where you scroll down to play the sound clip found in this dev diary, for an insight into the background ambiance of the societies, and how the dev team sounds when we hang out)

It's a society perfect for the rowdy pagan or tribal ruler: the one who drinks, fights, and brags about it to your friends. Of course, underneath that rough surface, lies a heart that swells at the thought of camaraderie, and helping you defeat your enemies.

That said, joining isn't for everyone. You have to fight to prove yourself, and duels are not for the faint of heart.

Fleeing_initiation_duel.png


The ones that do make it into the Warrior Lodge can also insist that their children attempt the initiation!

Once a member, you can enjoy special events on the battlefield, and intimidating power. Going up against a member of a warrior lodge is a calculated risk, but only cowards back out of challenge. While you might lose a leg dueling your friend for sport, you could also end up founding a bloodline as a famous warrior hero, having your legacy stay with your dynasty through centuries.

Warrior Bloodline.png




Each playable pagan religion has its own version of a Warrior Lodge, with some unique touches to them. Art is of course one of them.

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Then we have things like Create Fetish, a Power exclusive to the African Warrior Lodge. It allows your ruler to order the forging of a special type of artifact, ranging from mere rain-sticks to scare off ghosts, to large totem masks infused with the energy of ancient spirits.


The mask artifacts come in many varieties and shapes, and as they can be equipped to a separate face slot in your Treasury they can appear on your character’s portrait whenever they are worn. Both their shape and effects will depend on investments made during their creation, as well as on the type of spirit you decide to infuse them with. Do you wish to channel the energy of a benevolent river god, or that of a trickster?

WLfetish.jpg



In addition to Powers, and the various missions you can choose to accept, you might also find yourself involved in side activities, such as feasting events and competitions. Make sure to always pick up the challenges from your fellow warriors, or you might lose influence within their circle, be it a drinking contest, an arm-wrestling match, or the Flyting game of patience, where you and your opponent will hurl all sorts of insults at each other, to see who loses his cool first. If that is you, do not fret: even if your character ends up horribly humiliated, nothing is stopping you from being a sore loser and challenging your opponent to real duel in the aftermath…

WLflyting.jpg


Duels are also no longer locked solely the War Focus, but all Warrior Lodge members can enjoy fighting all up close and personal. In general, duels are a large past time for members of these societies, and Personal Combat Rating has been revamped to fit the new system. Outcomes of the duels vary from mere bruises to severe injuries. There is naturally also the chance of one thing leading to another, and you might find yourself making friends (or lovers)...


Thank you for your time. :)
 

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to be honest I hope something more cool, to rapresent the historical complexity, will be done also for the regular christian society. Sometimes I have the feel that the christian factions are the boring ones.
 
to be honest I hope something more cool, to rapresent the historical complexity, will be done also for the regular christian society. Sometimes I have the feel that the christian factions are the boring ones.

Christianity suffers from being the default, standard religion, the one faith playable from the very start. Every other religion in the game is more or less defined by how it deviates from Christianity.

And being the default is kind of boring, while being different is kind of interesting.

But at least Catholics get the Pope. And the College of Cardinals, I guess.
 
Though not necessarily a warrior lodge, the Jews definitely need something. Like a Merchant guild where tax income, trade post limit and diplomatic range is increased. Perhaps also a bloodine after restoring Israel and the Jewish High Priesthood. Because right now they are like a much more boring version of the Zoroastrians. They have no originality whatsoever, just the default mechanics with other names.
 
Though not necessarily a warrior lodge, the Jews definitely need something. Like a Merchant guild where tax income, trade post limit and diplomatic range is increased. Perhaps also a bloodine after restoring Israel and the Jewish High Priesthood. Because right now they are like a much more boring version of the Zoroastrians. They have no originality whatsoever, just the default mechanics with other names.

I'd guess they'll get a Bloodline for the high priesthood, and they already have a bonus to trade routes in the form of Radhanite quarters. Not to mention they get an usual amount of high skill courtiers due to being routinely expelled from Christian and Muslim realms.

They could use more content (a portrait pack comes to mind), but to say that they're just a more boring version of the Zoroastrians isn't exactly accurate.
 
Will there be different branches in the duel event similar to the "rap battle" or is it still a one shot random event? I'm thinking of picking a certain move depending on your ennemy's traits and your equipment to have higher chance of success.
 
I'd guess they'll get a Bloodline for the high priesthood, and they already have a bonus to trade routes in the form of Radhanite quarters. Not to mention they get an usual amount of high skill courtiers due to being routinely expelled from Christian and Muslim realms.

They could use more content (a portrait pack comes to mind), but to say that they're just a more boring version of the Zoroastrians isn't exactly accurate.

Restore the Persian Empire / Restore Israel. The Zoroastrians gets a special trait, the Jews get nothing.
Restore the Zoroastrian Church / Restore the High Priesthood. The Zoroastrian church happens immediately whereas the Third Temple is delayed and costs a shitton of piety.

The Zoroastrians have no special societies / The Jews have no special societies

Both are stuck with few diplomatic contacts. The Jews can invite from another culture group once they spawn while the Zoroastrian have other religious groups like Mazdans and Tengris to invite at the start of the game.

Both are played in the eastern part of the map. As Semien, you start in Ethiopia. As Karen, you start in Daylam. They don't share the exact same location, but they fight the same enemies such as the Abbasid Caliphate and Egypt and once they expand they often cover the same territories.

Where they differ is in:

The Zoroastrians can take 3 concubines while the Jews are restricted to 1 wife [Default Christian settings].

The Zoroastrians can engage in incest and sky burial. The Jews have no special game mechanics.

The Zoroastrians have special events such as getting a pet which lovers national revolt by -15%. The Jews have no such random special events.

Both have a special festival. But while the Zoroastrian one is once in a lifetime, the Jews can celebrate it every year. The Jewish one is much more basic with + prestige and piety and your vassals can refuse , much like a normal feast, whereas the Zoroastrian one gives you a special buff based on your personality traits. Such as Zealous = +25% levy size for 5 years. Your vassals cannot refuse it.

The Zoroastrians can always borrow 300 gold from the Jews (with rent and -10 opinion) whereas the Jews can only borrow 200 (without rent and -5 opinion) IF they have a trade post along the silkroad. Rip early game Semien Jews.

I can't help but consider the Jews a much harder and much more inferior version of the Zoroastrians with some default Christian settings.
 
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Though not necessarily a warrior lodge, the Jews definitely need something. Like a Merchant guild where tax income, trade post limit and diplomatic range is increased. Perhaps also a bloodine after restoring Israel and the Jewish High Priesthood. Because right now they are like a much more boring version of the Zoroastrians. They have no originality whatsoever, just the default mechanics with other names.

They already got a extra building on silk road tradepost, the only non-Jew with access to it are the Khazar. But they are indeed bland.
 
The other lodges require you to follow the appropriate faith, or: to have Tribal government, while not being Zealous, and also while neighboring a ruler that follows a pagan religion.

This does open new gameplay up for tribal Ireland.

It also begs a few questions.

And if you gain zealous after joining said lodge?

And if you neighbor a pagan and join only to war that pagan out of existence?
Though with this second one I would think, such is the nature of pagans that they snowball over each other. And that it is simply a starting condition.
 
Will you be giving all the societies special things to spend their points on once they hit the final rank/become leader? Very often I find I have more points then I can possibly spend on things. Even if it was just converting them into prestige/piety/gold would be nice to help give me something to do with all of them.
 
This DLC is looking more and more impressive with each dev diary.

My only one concern is that my poor east African Miaphysites are going to look incredibly boring in comparison to, well, everyone else.
 
Since someone brought up bloodlines, I have a question about them too: will one dynasty be able to create more than one bloodline?
For example, person 1 creates a bloodline like shown in this DD through warrior lodge. Then person 2, 1's son reforms the faith and creates bloodline with that (I don't know if that is actually a thing but for now lets assume it is). Then person 3, 2's son makes something else significant, worthy of a bloodline.
 
A year ago I came up with a suggestion for new societies for the pagans and the hindu. Those were based on a Dumezil book I was reading and it was an idea about a heroic band of warriors. I have always thought that it suit well for CK2 and now, seeing some similarity between my suggestion and the warrior lodges, I am very happy to see that idea being put into the game, even if I my thread wasnt any inspiration for the Devs.

However, what I wanted to say is that Hindus could use a warrior lodge on their own. It wouldnt be any stretch at all with more ancient version of Hinduism and just a little stretch with CK-contemporary Hinduism. After all, Hindu is pretty much reformed paganism.

https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...ieties-for-the-pagans-and-the-hindus.1048221/
 
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For a second there I thought the Eagle warriors where a warrior lodge for the Aztecs. Though, would I be right in assuming that the warrior lodge for the Aztecs are called the Jaguars? I know that many don't like the Aztecs, but I sometime join them and convert to there religion if I know I have no chance of wining against them. Also. Will there be special warrior lodges for certain cultures or is it just for religions for now?